Why would you play Soldier Elite? This is a third-rate knockoff of an aging stealth action game that's already been ripped off several times over and to much better effect. While there might be some parallels between Soldier Elite and some corny action movie you catch on late-night TV, the key difference is that you have to pay money to find out just how bad Soldier Elite is.

Our impression of Aurora Watching was that it could have been done so much better, there are so many little flaws that add up to a missed opportunity for a decent game. The graphics and physics are very good but the faults with it cancel these out. That isn’t to say it is a bad game, it’s just a game that you can spend a few hours with as long as you don’t expect too much.

I could go on and detail how awkward it is to switch weapons, ammo, and gadgets; how hit-or-miss the voice acting is; how ambient conversation persists even when everyone around me is dead; how needlessly circuitous some of the routes are; how unsatisfying combat is; the unskippable title screens; the monotonous action music. But in the end, it's a seriously flawed experience that could have greatly benefited from more playtesting, particularly how death is treated. I heartily recommend the latest Hitman or Metal Gear installment over this.

Most people tend to think it's a bad idea when games blatantly take features from other games and use them in their own game. Personally I'm not that fussed but what I do think is that if you're going to imitate games such as Splinter Cell and Metal Gear Solid you have to do it in a way that really works. Whilst Aurora Watching is clearly a game influenced by other titles (Metal Gear Solid in particular), it's been put together in such a haphazard way that the whole thing doesn't have half the appeal it should have. The game's not a complete disaster but it's very crude and has so many rough edges that it will turn off most gamers. If only the stealth elements worked properly, if only the level design was half decent, if only actions (such as cracking the computer systems) were challenging and if only the story had been worthwhile we might have had a game that would have been worth nearly £20 but as it stands, it's difficult to justify a purchase.

Aurora Watching may well have been turned out by a small development house, and it may only cost twenty quid, but neither of those facts make it worth purchasing. How a game can be so slow, repetitive and completely devoid of fun, logic or entertainment value is beyond us. Considering you can pick up a copy of Metal Gear Solid or any of the Splinter Cell series, most for a sub-budget price, there’s absolutely no reason at all to buy this. We’re not completely without heart though, so here, at no extra cost, is a quote for the marketers to use on their advertising: “Not quite as blisteringly awful as Stolen!”

Is it unfair to mock a game because the developer/publisher couldn't afford to get it translated properly? Perhaps. Is it unfair to demand £19.99 for something that's as unfinished, badly designed and devoid of deliberate entertainment value as Aurora Watching? Definitely. By all means sympathise with small developers, but that still means don't buy this at all.